Exclusive Nokia phones coming to each U.S. carrier?

Chris Weber, Nokia's president of North America, told FierceWireless in an interview that they are working to gain ground in the U.S. market by becoming the most carrier-friendly manufacturer in town. With this in mind, he said that they are trying to bring exclusive Windows Phone devices, content and experiences to each carrier.

"The most important thing we can do in the U.S. market is bring exclusive devices and opportunities to each of the carriers," he said. "Doing that exclusivity and giving them something unique allows us to get great carrier support."

T-Mobile is set to get the Lumia 710 and the stunning Lumia 900 is en route to AT&T under the moniker Ace. Nokia is working with T-Mobile specifically to lure in first time smartphone buyers, while the main focus with AT&T is to get current users on other platforms to make the move over. However, when asked about Verizon, who currently only carries the Gen-1 HTC Trophy, Weber was rather mum, stating only that "they're a very important partner for [Nokia]." He made no mention of Sprint, who seems to have nearly abandoned Windows Phone all together after a half-hearted affair with the wonderful HTC Arrive.

Perhaps this is just reading too much into the words of an exec, mixed some a healthy pinch of wishful thinking. Or perhaps it is a sign of greatness on the horizon. Either way, Weber's words show that Nokia knows where the key to success lies:

"At the end of the day, if we have great consumer satisfaction, they recommend it to friends, they love those devices, every other business metric takes care of itself."

Reader comments

Exclusive Nokia phones coming to each U.S. carrier?

Can't wait to hear more about this. Really would like to stay with Sprint. All I need is confirmation that a device is coming. I'll wait for it if I know about it. If there's no word... the 900 may be mine.

I'm on the same boat as you. I am willing to switch to AT&T for the Lumia 900 but if Sprint could at least confirm that they are getting another WP device then I will stick around. Sprint has excellent coverage where I live. Not only that but I love the price I pay for the service. But I won't stick around if I have to go back to the ubiquitous Android or iPhone.

what exactly makes ATT money sucking? Aside from t-mobile there is hardly any price differences between them.
I switched from T-Mobile to ATT because I wanted to support ATT for being the only carrier with faith in the platform.
We are stuck in a Catch22. We need carrier support to get attention but you need attention to get carrier support. ATT is leading the way

To everything you said: exactly. I miss T-mobile (switch over to ATT when I got the iPhone 3G), great plans, great customer service.
But T-mobile positions itself as the budget-minded alternative. So it makes since that budget-priced phones would get pushed harder to customers who don't want to spend the extra $100-200 on a phone (even if it is subsidized).

Here's the thing, Verizon gives Microsoft ultimatums like the only want an carry LTE WPs so they can push their more expensive LTE package... while making no demands of the LTE-less iPhones. Verizon could have taken any of the good WP phones that are currently out but they passed.
There is no conspirocy to get people to switch to AT&T. AT&T is less hostile toward WP and don't mind giving up some control to OEMs/Microsoft. Didn't hurt that AT&T uses the same network technology as the rest of the world (making mass production easier on the OEMs)

so i dont understand these people that interview.. when they said something like all carriers the follow up is... well can you tell us which carriers get what phone.. i swear.. do people even have brains..

I think this is smart for nokia and wp. I mean even if the "exclusive" is just a certain color( blue for at&t, red for verizon, etc) that would bring more sales and get more people knowing about it with a high end device on the carrier. Does not make sense to have all the high end phones on one carrier if you are trying to get others to jump ship to wp. Most aren't going to switch carriers.

Exactly.
I think the 'exclusive' tag is just synonymous for 'customized for' that particular network. T-Mobile has the Lumia 710 - customized for the budget/value friendly network. AT&T is getting the customized LTE on a GSM network (as well as a newly designed device). Verizon will get the LTE for CDMA with the Lumia 710 variant (unless there is another form factor revealed at MWC). Sprint? Probably nothin' (from Nokia), but hopefully they will reach out to HTC again for another WP device, but it's been crickets so far.

also the title of this article is very misleading as is the pics. you said he didnt say a word about sprint or verizon.. so why have them in there. theres exclusive ones for at&t and tmobile thats it... makes me sad tho being onn sprint... wishing for something every day...

I expect Sprint to get some US verson of the 800, call it 810 or 820 w/e, with LTE. Verizon being Verizon will probably ask for a beefed up 900 I bet. No way they'd want something second to AT&T hardware wise.

very intelligent comment, if your on here you must be wanting or have a WP7... so getting it into as many peoples hands only helps the OS... maybe you should think before you open that mouth.. also ill be enjoying my unlimited data all day long for 10 bucks lol..

Now that AT&T has invested a ton of money locally in my metro area (Phoenix) I think I'm going to switch from Sprint when the Lumia 900 arrives. I'm tired of Verizon/Sprint dicking around. Verizon lost me to Sprint when I wanted the Arrive over the Trophy (why they both couldn't offer both is beyond me), and now Sprint loses me as well because of the same dead end mentality. How many Android phones are needed, 80% of them are basically the same thing. I can afford to pay more and I will happily do it to have a device I love in my hand. The bill only comes once a month, but the phone is in my hand all day long every day.

Unfortunately T-Mobile doesn't have a phone worth buying or locking in to another 2 year contract. Both the Lumia 710 and the Radar 4G are WAY too small to use and underwhelming. I do see them selling.